A popular Italian eatery in Blue Bell is giving patients battling breast cancer across the country a Slice of Hope on Friday.

On Oct. 12, 15 percent of sales at Carmine’s Italian Grille will be donating to the Karen Mullen Breast Cancer Foundation, a Seattle-based charity, which plans to fund breast cancer research with the money raised.

With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month and also National Pizza Month, it seemed like a natural partnership, noted Carmine’s owners Jim and Kimberly Rahill.

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“Pizza Today magazine was promoting the Slice of Hope fundraiser and asking all pizza restaurants in the country to participate and that’s how we found out about it,” said Kimberly, a breast cancer survivor.

As far as Kimberly knew, Carmine’s was the only restaurant in the area pledging support to Slice of Hope.

“Not only being a survivor myself, but having daughters of our own makes us concerned about trying to find a cure for this disease,” she said. “We think it’s wonderful that pizza places all over the country are involved with this.”

Of course, Carmine’s, the epitome of a refined but relaxed style of dining, is far from being just a “pizza place,” and the couple is not limiting donations to pizza sales.

“We just introduced a brand new menu,” noted Jim, a Norristown native whose career as a restaurateur can be traced back to an apprenticeship at Sal’s Pizza, one of Plymouth Meeting Mall’s original tenants.

“We have some new pasta dishes, entrees and flatbread pizzas, which are rolled out really thin and are suitable for an individual person or as an appetizer.”

Fresh mozzarella — shredded on site — headlines the line up of ingredients for one of the most popular pizzas here, the Margherita ($16, large), which is topped off with organic basil and a signature marinara sauce.

Rahill snubs the shortcut route by creating all sauces and soups from scratch.

“I won’t use any concentrates or frozen; everything has to be fresh,” he said.

His famous Pasta Fagioli soup is a spiced-just-right combination of garlic, onion, red and white beans, tomatoes, pecorino Romano, basil and ditalini pasta that is ladled out for happy customers year round, unlike some variable temptations like Tomato Bisque and Chicken Corn Chowder.

Paninis, steak sandwiches, salads, burgers — they all turn up on the massive but manageable menu, along with a more upscale bill of fare (Pollo Francese, anyone?) that is sublimely compatible with the piped-in Sinatra and white linen tablecloths that grace the tables come late afternoon.

Whether your dining desire is a quick Buffalo Chicken Cheese Steak for lunch — a high-flying favorite with many here — or a candlelit Scampi for dinner, Carmine’s is a restaurant that aims to please.

If you don’t see it exactly to your liking on the menu, you just need to speak up.

“We do kind of specialize in customization,” Kimberly noted. “We have no problem changing anything on the menu the way a customer wants it.”

Celebrating its fifth year in Blue Bell, the BYOB named after Jim’s grandfather, Carmine Cauley, recently enjoyed its busiest week ever, Jim noted.

“I think the new menu has a lot to do with it and people are liking that waitress service is back,” he said. “With so many restaurants closing, we’re lucky to be doing very well here.”